


The Sun's Angel

by WeezlBot



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crying, Getting Together, Internalized Homophobia (sort of?), M/M, Night Terrors, Nightmare Recovery, Nightmares, Suicidal Thoughts, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-20 16:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WeezlBot/pseuds/WeezlBot
Summary: It's a Solangelo get-together fic, I guess. It's pretty short tbh. Nico and Will are friends. This is the night they realize they might want to be something more.





	The Sun's Angel

**Author's Note:**

> My Solangelo fics are my most popular ones so far. Here's another.

Nico awoke with a jerk. His harsh, forced exhalations turned into full on screaming into the blankets that were twisted around him. He was on the floor, or at least his top half was. His legs were entangled in the blanket that hung off the bed.

He choked on another shriek and sat up, crying and forcing back nausea. Chills enveloped him, his whole body was trembling and shaking. Stumbling to the bathroom, he hurled his guts into the toilet. He couldn't stop. _You will live a life of nonstop misery,_ the voices had said. _You will forever bring sadness and harm to those you care for. Tartarus will always hurt you, curse you. It will always be in your mind._ And that was just the part he could wrap his head around. 

Tartarus. The worst, most evil place on Earth for a demigod. Nico had crawled through _it-_ the _true_ Tartarus. Not the misty illusion Percy and Annabeth had experienced. No, the gods were not that kind to the children of Hades. He had seen Tartarus for what it truly was- a conglomerate of endlessly respawning demons and monsters, a macabre collage of mankind's and the gods’ greatest evils, an inhuman, terrible collection of the darkest thoughts of a being. It was not an ultimate, hellish training arena with curses, like the golden couple of Percy and Annabeth had experienced. It was pure fear, and the fear was nonstop and never ending- _it would never end._

He finally got control of himself enough to be able to stumble back into the main part of his cabin, still trembling, still wracked with fear. He turned on the light in his cabin and looked around. Nothing was disturbed, which was somewhat relieving, but a harsh cry still forced its way out of his throat and he was a puddle of tears again. He wasn't _here,_ in the familiar Hades cabin. The ground was about to crumble beneath his feet and plunge him into Tartarus again. He was surely about to be in Tartarus again. He was where the sharp edge of fear cut him, he had to be. He would be in the jar again. Oh, what he would give to never see that damned jar again. The imprisonment was stifling. The walls were closing in on him. He couldn't breathe.

He wanted to be with Bianca again. He wanted to be able to crawl in bed with her, feel her warm body next to his. Nothing could possibly hurt them when they were together. She had died when they were apart.

_She had died…_ the truth smacked him out of any fragile comfort he had begun to attain by thinking of her. She was dead, and his childhood innocence had died with her. Just when Hazel had started to bring it back ever so slightly, Tartarus had come along and shattered it for good, along with his peace of mind and ability to sleep at night.

Desperate, he crawled over to the barely-used shrine of Hades and put his head down on it. Salt drops hit the golden altar and faded away. _Father will think this a fairly bizarre offering,_ Nico thought dully. He hiccuped and made his plea, softly.

“Make… please make it stop…” he whispered. His chest tightened until it was hard to breathe. “Make the nightmares stop, Father, I know you can… please… make them stop…” He was whimpering, almost, and his voice was cracking and trembling violently. “P-please!” he sobbed. “Make all of it stop, please! Please! Father, if you have any mercy, if there is a _single merciful god on Olympus,_ then make it stop!” He gave a loud wail before his voice gave out and he was left sniveling and begging onto his father's altar. He was howling, and he couldn't breathe. He was sure that there would be no relief from anywhere, not from the gods, not from any demigod or ghost, not from anyone.

Meanwhile, in the Apollo cabin, Will Solace awoke to a dull ache in his chest. That usually meant that there was someone suffering in the immediate vicinity. He got up and checked on his siblings. Everyone appeared to be sleeping peacefully, which confused him. Why did he feel someone's suffering… if there was no one suffering?

Still, he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that something was wrong. So, he did what any healer or complete suicidal moron with a hero complex would do: he left his cabin, after curfew, and went to go check on his friends.

The Hermes cabin was the easiest to check. They never locked their door in case one of their own did a midnight prank session, so all Will had to do to ensure all was well was crack the door and make sure everyone was nice and asleep. The Hecate cabin was next. They had their door locked, but Lou liked to leave a window open so if any of her friends needed her, they had her, but no one could barge in without having to actually break and enter her house. The downside was, her _friends_ had to break and enter her house if they needed her! 

Will poked his head through her window and saw… no disturbances. Well then. Time to investigate… the cabins around the Hermes cabin, where the feeling of twisting hurt had been strongest so far. He returned to the Hermes cabin and in a suicidal but necessary move, closed his eyes and followed his gut.

After bumping into a few things, he opened his eyes and saw where he was. His gut had led him straight to Cabin 13. _Nico di Angelo’s cabin,_ Will thought. _But_ … _he's… oh, gods. This is like his first night in the infirmary. He had another nightmare, I'd bet. He gets them bad, so I should be a good friend and check on him… I'm worried about him…_

Will knocked on the door. No response. He tried again. Still no response. He was sure there was someone suffering in there, but why weren't they answering? Will's mind drifted through a thousand nightmare scenarios. What if Nico was hurt too badly to move? What if someone had made it so he couldn't answer by binding him with and/or to something and gagging him? What if Nico was unconscious? What if monsters had gotten into his cabin somehow and attacked him in his sleep? What if…

What if Nico had finally succeeded in doing himself in? Will knew that Nico had had at least one suicide attempt in the past. What if he'd tried again… and succeeded at least in making getting help impossible? Will panicked and knocked harder, police style. This time, he wasn't going to be deterred. When there was still no answer, Will began to pick the lock. As healer, he was allowed to carry a bump key with him so he could access injured demigods being held inside cabins, intentionally or otherwise. He’d never used it before except in drills, so it took a moment of work, complicated by the fact that his hands were trembling.

When he finally achieved entry to the small cabin, what he first noticed was the sound of someone crying. If that was to be heard, Will would hear it immediately upon coming into a room. It was a habit he’d formed from hours with crying demigods.

Then he noticed the source of the tears. Nico di Angelo was slumped over his father's shrine, crying. Not the quiet tears Will had seen one or two times prior, either. Full on, hopeless, sobbing, sniveling tears. Will walked over and placed a gentle hand on Nico's shoulder. Nico shrieked and whirled.

Will jumped back. “Oh, Nico, I'm so sorry. It's okay, Nico, it's just me. It's me, Will. I'm sorry. I never meant to scare you.” Will put his hand back on his shoulder. He could feel him trembling. “It's gonna be okay. See?” In pulling Nico into a hug he could tell that Nico had been sick. 

Nico was too sad, scared and exhausted to resist the older boy, and to be honest, a long hug from Will sounded nice right about then. Nico’s head fit nicely under Will's chin, tucking him into a pocket of warm body and soft cloth. Nico nuzzled Will's collarbone, and Will felt it get wet. 

“Was… was it the nightmares again?” Will whispered. Nico nodded slightly. Will squoze him tighter and went to take some of the pain from him. He felt coldness immediately, then a constriction where he should have felt pain, like someone was cutting him off.

“Nico?” he queried. 

“Don't,” Nico begged. “Don't do it. Don't hurt yourself for me. Don't do it, Will, please! I'm fine. I've dealt with nightmares before. Don't take any of this. You don't want it, it'll hurt you, please!” Nico whimpered.

"Nico…” Will's voice sounded soft, sad. “Nico, I'd rather carry _all_ of your tears, _all_ of your nightmares than have you carry any of them yourself. I don't want you to be hurt. I don't like it when people are hurt. Nico, I care about you. You know I do. You're my friend. You're my crush. Please, Nico, let me help you.” 

"Will… fine! Just do it.” Nico relented, knowing that in the end, Will would get his way one way or the other. He was predictable like that. 

Nico had learned to feel whenever Will used healer's magic on him. It stabilized him, evened his breathing and quieted his pounding heart. It didn't even feel that intrusive, it was a soft, gentle intrusion, and if anything it felt like Will was giving his troubled mind a hug. And with that heat surrounding him, he gave up his pain and sorrow to Will.

Will went in a second time, and this time, he got the harsh wash of pain that he was expecting. He didn't think he’d ever really be able to fully get over how bad it was for him to take Nico’s pain. Will only ever got half of it, but there still were one or two times where Nico didn't let him stay with him very long and he wound up crying somewhere afterwards. 

Will felt Nico’s vulnerable body and heart give up its pain and slump in his arms. He pulled Nico over to his bed and sat down, head spinning. Will pulled them both down, gently, until they were lying down. Will carefully moved him, trying to make him as comfortable as humanly possible. 

Nico had still not let go. It made him feel pathetic, but he had to admit that he wanted Will to hold him. He could hear Will's heartbeat, rapid at first and then slowing as Will's tense body relaxed around him. His head was nuzzled into the crook of Will's elbow, and not knowing what to do, he wrapped his arms around Will's arm so he could still be holding on to some part of him.

“Nico, it may be more comfortable for you if you sat up a little,” Will murmured. He had felt the contortions in both of their bodies that had been caused by the position that they were in, and indeed, these were fixed when Nico did what Will suggested. Will felt Nico's hair tickle his neck, and he stroked it gently. 

“Will…?” Nico whispered. He didn't want to be alone in silence, and even though he didn't think Will would leave him alone, the quiet was getting to him. “Will… will you sing to me?”

Will smiled. It was an odd request, but not the strangest one he’d ever gotten, and one he'd granted before. He tucked a strand of Nico's loose, sweat-sticky hair behind his ear and started to sing softly. _When you try your best but you don't succee-eed… when you get what you want but not what you nee-eed…_ Next was the lyric that Will felt most applied to his Death Boy. He hugged Nico tighter. _When you feel so tired but you can't sleep… Caught in reve-er-erse…_

Will's voice felt like honey in Nico’s ears, and he slumped even further in Will's warm, strong arms. Will continued to sing. _When the tears come streaming down your fa-ace… when you lose something you can't repla-ace… when you love someone but it goes to wa-aste… could it be wo-o-orse?_

Will took a breath and sighed. Nico looked up at him with pleading, wet eyes, Bambi eyes. Will smiled and began to sing again. _Lights will gui-ui-ui-ui--uide you home… and ig-ni-i-i-i-ite your bones… and I… will try… to fix you._ Another pause. 

_High up above or down below… when you're too in love to let it go-o… if you'll never try, you'll never kno-ow… just what you're wo-o-orth…_ “I wish you knew what you were truly worth, Death Boy…”

“P-please just sing…” Nico mumbled, embarrassed.

“Okay,” Will whispered in response. He smiled and started into the next verse. _Lights will gui-ui-ui-ui--uide you home… and ig-ni-i-i-i-ite your bones… and I… will try… to fix you…_

_Tears stream… down your fa-ace… when you lose something you cannot re-plaace… tears stream… down your fa-ace and I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I… tears stream… down your fa-ace… I promise you I will learn from all my mist-aakes… tears stream… down your fa-ace and I…_

_Lights will gui-ui-ui-ui--uide you home… and ig-ni-i-i-i-ite your bones… and I… will try… to fix you..._

“Thank you…” Nico whispered.

Will saw strange things in his dreams that night. He was surrounded by carnivorous garden gnomes, but they only said “noot noot” and ate squirrel meat. The dream shifted. Crows flew high in the sky, but then it wasn't the sky, it was the water below him and rainbow whales were swimming through silver and gold clouds. He looked down and saw that the water was not water at all, but rather the soft, wet, tear-filled surface of a glassy brown eye, which blinked and sent him hurtling through space inside of a drop of water. Then he was on a tiny planet in a cartoon space suit, next to an open, circular trapdoor with a wooden sign over it that said “TARTARUS”. He got sucked in, screamed, landed and then realized that the hole was three feet deep. He climbed out, jumped, spun around the planet a few times. Then as he passed over the hole, he heard a “ping!” and saw himself disappear in a cartoon flash. Then, he was in the hole again, but this time the bottom opened up like the door of a spaceship in an old movie and he was plunged into nothingness. He shrieked and was caught in the palm of a hand and was lifted up. He grew until he was the same size as the figure, then saw that it was Clovis, from Hypnos.

“Hey, how’re ya doin’?” Will asked cheerfully.

“You'll wake up soon,” was all he said.

Will woke, gently. Upon floating into consciousness, he realized that he had not fallen asleep in any place fully familiar to him, as the air did not smell like antiseptic like the infirmary did, and it was cool, unlike the Apollo cabin’s generally warm temperatures. Also, as he became slightly more aware of his surroundings, he felt a very soft pressure on his upper chest. Touching it, he found that it was another person, who was still sleeping soundly.

That's when the events of the previous night came back to him. He and Nico had somehow fallen asleep together. Not even just “together”- they were curled around each other in a hopeless tangle. Will strengthened his hold on Nico in an attempt to keep him in his arms. Nico squoze Will’s soft sweatshirt sleeve and sighed in his sleep. Nico’s head lolled a little, revealing his face to Will. Will's heart did a little tap dance at the sight. _He’s so cute. His sleeping face is the cutest thing I've ever seen. How the hell does this cute, cute face hide so many demons?_

Will's eyes were teary. He remembered how Nico looked last night, and all the pain and panic and hurt in his eyes. Looking at Nico now, it was hard to believe that he could ever have a nightmare. Will gently glossed a finger over Nico’s eyelids and sighed softly. Nico grumbled a little in his sleep. “Sorry, sorry,” Will whispered. “You're just too cute when you're asleep. And… it makes me want to kiss you.” Will gently brushed his hair off of his face. “You're so beautiful, Death Boy…” 

Nico floated into consciousness, feeling a light touch on his forehead. He was surrounded by heat, and he could tell that he was being held in place. He felt soft cloth beneath his fingers, and he could tell that the figure that held him was male. For one second, he felt absolutely, blissfully safe.

Then the events of last night flooded back into his mind. The nightmare. Him crying on his father’s altar. Will intervening, hugging him. Will. Will. Will. 

Nico’s eyes shot open. Will was smiling down at him, and Nico proceeded to blush furiously. He was _irritatingly_ attractive like this, with sleep in his glistening eyes and his golden curls spreading wildly around his head.

“Hey, Death Boy. I'm sorry for... I'm sorry for falling asleep in your bed. Did you at least sleep okay? You seemed comfortable, so I didn't try to move you…” Will's eyebrows scrunched as he kept talking, and worry was building in his chest. Nico moved away from Will and knelt on the foot of the bed, looking back at the golden blond boy who looked so out of place lying on the dark pillows. 

Nico blushed. “Uh. Um. Yeah, I slept well. Did… did you?” 

Will yawned. “Yeah, I slept fine. You didn't disturb me at all, you're actually very still in your sleep. It's almost scary,” Will chuckled. That chuckle died in his throat as he looked at Nico's face. There was clearly something bothering him.

“Is everything alright, Nico? You look like there's something on your mind.”

“Well, uh… isn't… isn't it improper to sleep in the same bed as someone else if you aren't married?”

“Not necessarily,” Will replied. “Friends and siblings can also share beds. I've shared beds with Lou, Cecil and several of the other Apollo kids,” Will shrugged. “Besides, we're both guys, so no one should have any real problems with it. They'll probably just think we decided to have a sleepover or something and forgot about the no-two-campers-alone-in-a-cabin rule.. Besides, if the bed sharing thing is something that gets to you, we don't have to tell anybody and we never have to do it again.”

“But… wouldn't they have even more problems with us being in a cabin with each other if we're both boys?”

_Oh._ “Nico… you can't be afraid of the hateful. If you spend your whole life worried of what other people think of you, you'll destroy yourself.”

Nico sat for a moment and took that in. A relieved something settled in his chest. William Solace had just put into words what Nico guessed that he needed to hear and had never been told. “Th-thank you. I…” Nico trailed off. “I needed that,” he finally whispered. Will hugged him and he relaxed a little.

He had many questions, so he selected the one that was least embarrassing and, he thought, most pertinent. “Does… does…” Nico’s question died in his throat. He and Will… well, Will did like him. He’d said it before. But… he still couldn't believe that Will cuddling with him was romantic, not after Will's answer to his previous question had put him on grounds with Lou Ellen Blackstone and Cecil Markowitz, who were his best friends and _certainly_ not the target of any romantic interest on his part.

As per usual, Will wouldn't let it slide. “Does what?"

“Does… but… you have a crush on me…” 

“Well, yes, but…” Will sighed. 

“Why does it matter?”

“Because! People will think we’re dating!”

“Joke’s on you! I’d love to be your boyfriend!”

Nico choked on spit. “... You would?”

“Yes! I’ve told you, like, a hundred times.”

Nico trailed off. “... Will, I… I don’t know if I’m ready to..”

“Okay, do you _want_ this to be a romantic thing? I'm okay to move at your pace. I've told you this. But if you're ready to take the next step, then I'm ready to do it, too.” Will heaved a sigh. 

Nico was blushing furiously, and his head was down. "I..." 

Will could tell that his heart was beating fast. "You?"

“Uh… um… I…” Nico wanted to say yes. He really did. The thought of Will filled him with desire, but he was _so scared._ “I… um. I… care about you… and…” Nico couldn't speak. “I-I-I…” 

“You don't have to answer it now. Remember, I don't mean to pressure y-” 

“Yes,” Nico had no idea where the sudden rush of confidence came from. “Yes. I want to… take the next step. Yes.” Nico was tearing up. “Y-yes.” His voice cracked and he took a breath. 

Will felt his face become warm. He had made Nico emotional, and he didn't know what to do about it. He thought back on how Nico reacted normally to physical touch, then decided against his normal cuddles. Instead, he patted Nico's shoulder, gently. “Hey, it'll be alright. We don't have to tell anybody. That cool?”

“Will, I…” Nico mumbled. He blushed and grabbed Will in a hug, awkwardly. Will hugged him back, a gentle squeeze. 

After a few minutes, Will spoke. “Boyfriend and boyfriend. I think I like it.”

“Oh, shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> I never feel like I'm good at writing nightmares. I guess I need more practice.
> 
> Also, what is it with me and putting "Fix You" in my early fics? I did it in Infirmary and now this. I never even liked that song that much. 
> 
> And by the way, this was one of my earlier fics. Not Infirmary-level early, but this is a couple years old. 
> 
> By the way, if you care, the first draft of Infirmary was written about three (maybe four) years ago in an old sketchbook I had. It was only nights, no days. It was garbage. I think one scene implied that Will was touching himself to the thought of Nico. That level of totally-off-theme garbage.
> 
> Don't know why I felt the need to tell you that.


End file.
